Greylisting

What is GreylistingGreylisting is a method of blocking spam based on the behavior of the sending server, rather than the content of the messages. It temporarily “rejects” or “bounces” unrecognized incoming emails that are not included in the receiving mail server’s trusted sender or white lists.

How Greylisting WorksThe way greylisting actually works is this:

Each time your mail box receives an email from an unknown contact, that mail is temporarily rejected with a "try again later" message (which happens at the SMTP layer and is transparent to the email sender or receiver). This means that the message gets delayed until the mail server sends it again.

If the incoming mail is legitimate, the originating mail server will try to send it again. This time the email will be accepted and sent to your mail box. If the mail is from a spammer, it generally will not be resent. Mass email tools used by spammers will often not bother to retry a failed delivery as they send out large volumes of emails without repetition or electronic follow-up.

Visual Overview of Greylisting

Please Note: The end user will only notice a delay on the first message from a given sender when greylisting is in use. Once a sender passes the greylisting test, they become a trusted sender. If a message is received from someone on the mail server’s trusted sender or white lists, then the message bypasses greylisting and is then processed by anti-virus settings and then delivered.